PHOENIX (CBS5) -
Five men were arrested and 518 pounds of marijuana were seized after an attempted traffic stop followed by a brief car chase Monday, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
A deputy on patrol near the intersection of Toltec and Bataglia roads south of Stanfield saw a white Ford Expedition make an unsafe U-turn and attempted to make a traffic stop just before 7 a.m., PCSO said.
Deputies said the Expedition's driver refused to stop, ran a stop sign and continued southbound on Toltec Road.
The Expedition left the road at a high rate of speed as it approached Curtis Road and ended up stuck in the mud, according to PCSO. The deputy saw five men run from the vehicle.
The deputy found 518 pounds of marijuana packaged in bundles inside the vehicle, PCSO said.
Deputies found three of the suspects about a half-mile from the vehicle, and U.S. Border Patrol agents caught the remaining two suspects near the Santa Cruz River.
The suspects were identified as Jose Ramon Medina-Lopez, 25, Jorge Alberto Matute-Vanegas, 21, Jose Rafael Vanegas-Mencia, 23, Ivis Misael Chapa-Duvon, 25, and Sergio S. Orozco, 25, according to the sheriff's office.
Orozco was identified as the driver and a U.S. citizen. The other four suspects are illegal immigrants, according to deputies.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
